To do most of the technical works around our home a cordless drill is very essential. To do works like fitting curtain rods, constructing a platform or fence, doing electrical wiring or installing a shelf in a room, you need drilling holes and driving screws.
If you were to visit Sears, Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Lowes, you can see about 20 various kinds of cordless drills hanging on display. How would you choose the right one for you?
In the last two years cordless drills have changed a lot and the latest model features, small sized, with powerful motors and quickly chargeable lithium-ion batteries. Most of the drills now are having only half of the size and weight of those used before two years ago.
Your father or husband won’t have a different opinion, because the cordless drills will do exactly the work what you expect them to do. Even if you work whole day with these drills, they provide you extra energy to do any hard job without getting tired. Size, torque, speed, batteries and clutch are the five important units of capacity of a quality cordless drill. It is expected to pay $80 to $100 for a quality 180inch/lb subcompact cordless drill.
$150 to $220 for a quality 320-400inch/lb compact drill and more for a quality 500inch/lb full size cordless drill.
The latest model cordless drills are smaller in size than those of a year ago. The new subcompact lithium drill weighs 2 lbs, where as an equivalent Nicad powered drill of two years ago weighs 5.2 lbs. These are easy to hold and portable to any difficult site. These new drills have lights in them allowing you to see inside of any rooms under normal conditions.
Latest drills are easy to put in your kitchen drawers. Torque or rotational force is the actual power (not battery voltage) of a cordless drill. This torque is rated in inch/pounds and it is the measurement which decides your choice of purchase according to the task to be done.
For most of the drilling, screwing and repair tasks around home, a 180 inch/lbs is adequate and for most home construction and remodeling works a 320 inch/lb is suitable. You consider a higher torque full size one only if you required to set a lot of lag bolts while building a deck, to drill holes in concrete or a large specialty attachment like a bulb auger.
Before purchasing a cordless drill take note of its specifications on the box or go to the manufacturers website to see the torque numbers. New lithium powered drill has two or more variable speed settings. Normally a 0-600 rpm, which is used for drilling large holes, driving large screws and precision works and a 1-1600 rpm model is used for drilling small holes, counter sinking and setting of smaller screws.
While using your drill start with the low speed setting and then switch to the higher speed when the task got tamed. Gradually you can work accurately with the higher speed. When you purchase, go for a multi speed drill since single speed drill is slow and poor in quality.